Fire of the Moon
by Xero the Pyro
Summary: Xaren is an average hunter, living out his life in Pokke, but thats all about to change. A mysterious "Queen of the Elder Dragons" reveals herself, and the Guild just might be outmatched, and Xaren seems to be at the center at all of it. Follow him and his friends as they struggle to survive the Queen and hang on to who they are, just as everything is crashing down around them.
1. Chapter 1

**Fire of the Moon**

By Xero the Pyro Summary:

For some reason, all the targets are disappearing, and when a hunter turns up dead, the Guild sends out a young but talented hunter to investigate. The situation soon spirals out of control, and the Guild is forced to bring out a group of their finest hunters, the Dragon Souls. Rated T for swearing, gore (may change later on).

A/U: Okay folks, I'm Xero the Pyro, the "tne" is a typo I haven't changed yet so bear with me please and just think of it as "the". So, thanks for reading this, (tell your friend! XD) and I am sorry, my updating may be random, but I'll try to be consistent. Thank you Axi0us, you are an awesome publisher. Now this is my first fic, so I'll be improving (hopefully), and without further delays, here is Chapter 1!

Ignoring his depleting stamina, he hunter ran as hard as he could. His Conga armor had numerous scratch marks, his helm had long since been destroyed, and he was out of potions. He was only a little ways away from camp; no way in Hell could he/she/it follow him there.

The hunter stopped running long enough to rest, and walked a little ways further before catching himself; he was at the edge of a cliff in the forest and hills. It was night time and this was no climb he wanted to make in the dark, but going back meant open areas and vulnerability. The hunter sighed. He inched the bridge of his nose preparing to climb down when he heard a sharp _snap!_ behind him. He whirled around, his hands flying to the hilts of his icicle daggers. He couldn't see the figure entirely thanks to the lack of moon this night, but he could see the luminous blue eyes, without pupils or mercy. The hunter slowly unsheathed his weapons, knowing how this dance would end.

His opponent thrust their glimmering long sword in a heart rendering thrust, blue flames fuming down its length, but the hunter deflected the blade. His attacker knocked aside his attack with a massive wave of his/her left hand, leaving the hunter with his arms fully extended and crossed. His attacker had his left wrist in a vice grip, and his right hand blade was keeping the long sword from impaling him. The hunter was trapped, his attacker knew it, and with a loud snap his wrist was broken. The hunter dropped to the ground, his blades lay forgotten on the ground.

The hunter looked up, cradling his broken wrist. "How is this possible?" he gasped. "You're human!"

When the creature spoke, it was in two voices, both female, but the underlying voice was silk and smooth, but sold and merciless. "Burn, pathetic creature." The long sword swung down.

Xaren woke up with a start, his felyne, Satan, standing over him, hitting him repeatedly over the head with his scythe.

"Nyaah! Master! Breakfast is ready, and Pete says that if you don't get up now he'll burn your food!"

In a flash, Xaren was up and dressed in accustom black khezu armor with a black metal piece over his chest and his Wyvern blade blood on. Rushing through the curtain quickly, Xaren yelled, "Pete! Please don't burn my food again! I'm sorry!" His lead cook cat, Pete, sighed and turned around saying, "Master, you're too lazy. Invest in an alarm clock, nya."

Xaren laughed nervously running a hand through his untidy brown hair. He ate quickly, and then walked out of his house into the cool air of Pokke village. It was summer, but thanks to the village's close proximity to the Snowy Mountain, there was still snow on the ground, and Xaren's breath came out in a mist.

"Xaren!" called out a gruff voice.

Xaren smiled to himself and turned around, "Well look who ventured outside this fine morning? How are ya old man?"

The "old man" grunted and walked over. His name: Vincent Le' Roein, a retired hunter. He wore old fashioned chain mail and his tanned skin similar to the consistency of leather with warm brown eyes surrounded by laugh lines. He was a kind man that would often share friendly banter with Xaren.

"Old man my ass," grumbled Vince. "Normally I'd teach you a thing or two about respecting your elders, but we haven't the time for that. The village elder has requested your company."

Xaren shot his fist into the air. "Hell yeah! Come on, we all know that means she plans on assigning a special mission! I haven't gotten one of those since that stupid khezu. I was afraid she had forgotten about me."

"Well, don't get too excited. I overheard the details, and they aren't, well, lets just say cheerful." cautioned Vince. "But that's beside the point. I have to go and you have to see the elder." and with that, Vince turned and left.

"Well, whatever I guess." mumbled Xaren.

He turned and walked towards the village elder and her rather snooty felyne companion, Nekoht. A perfect example in contradictions, Nekoht was cold and aloof while the elder was warm and loving. The only clear similarity between the two was that they were similar in height- both the cat and the human were around three feet tall.

"Heya Nekoht!" greeted Xaren. The felyne regarded the hunter with contempt before sniffing and examining a flaw in her cream colored fur.

"So I hear you have an urgent mission for me." said Xaren, his excitement scarcely contained.

"Right to the point then?" chuckled the elderly woman. "Very well. You have of course heard of the rather odd cases of our target high level wyverns and Elder Dragons going missing."

"Yep." replied Xaren.

"Well, one of our hunters was sent to investigate the disappearance of the local Elder Dragons in the Forest and Hills area. He went missing two days ago, but his rather battered felyne returned."

Xaren raised an eyebrow, clearly intrigued. "And?"

"The poor cat was in critical condition, and before it went into a deep coma, it was babbling about a monster with glowing blue eyes and blue flames."

"That sounds like a Lunestra to me," said Xaren, thinking of the blue Elder Dragon.

"Initially I came to the same conclusion, but the hunter sent had many Elder Dragon slayings under his belt, and even surprised, with his felyne, a Lunestra, as difficult as the moon dragon may be, should have been no problem for a hunter of that caliber," explained the Elder.

"So you're sending me? But aren't I a lower class hunter?" asked Xaren in confusion.

"Hardly," scoffed the Elder. "Younger and inexperienced, yes, but in terms of talent and skill I'd say you're every bit as powerful as Vince. On the other hand, this is not a combat mission. I want you to find our missing hunter, and find out as much about his attacker as possible."

Xaren nodded. "Understood."

_**Three hours later**_

Xaren's brow knitted in worry, his black hood pulled on to shield his eyes from the sunlight. He was standing in a pretty open area, but the signs of a fight were clear. Scuffed tracks leading to the gorge, sword marks in the ground, burns on the local foliage, and perhaps most obvious, a charred shoulder piece from an armor set. All the signs pointed to a battle yes, but not to a battle between a dragon and human, but between two very skilled hunters.

"Nya, what happened here boss?" asked Satan nervously, his scythe clenched tightly in his hands.

"I'm not entirely sure, but Satan, I need you to do something," said Xaren, distracted.t

He quickly explained his wishes to his companion and friend, and after some slight confusion, Satan dove into the ground in the way only felynes could.

"And now onwards to the gorge," sighed Xaren, already suspecting what awaited him there.

After a good ten minutes of walking, Xaren finally came upon the gorge. With many natural stone shelves littering it all the way to the bottom, it was an easy climb down to the bottom, but Xaren didn't even have to take one step down. Hanging over the edge of the highest shelf, right next to Xaren lay the missing hunter. His body was charred and there was a large sword wound in his chest. The hunter's daggers lay next to the body, nearly falling off the edge to the bottom a hundred feet below.

Xaren was about to get closer when the sharp and all too familiar _schnick _of a sword being drawn sounded behind him.

That was all the warning the hunter had.

It was all the warning the hunter needed.

Spinning to the left, Xaren narrowly dodged a would be mortal blow from a Saber, a blue blade made from a Lunestra. In front of Xaren stood a lithe figure, clearly human with light leather armor. A hood was drawn, but bright pupil-less blue eyes shown from underneath. Xaren tried to draw his own long sword, a fire blade made from the materials of the Rathalos, the wyvern blade: blood, but he was forced to dodge from the continuous attacks. Every time he would reach up to grab his blade, he would end up having to duck and dodge.

Finally Xaren got fed up with this pattern of retreat, so he jumped to a lower shelf of rock, drawing his sword as he did so. Not missing a beat, his attacker followed, and their blades met. Red flames from the wyvern blade and blue from the saber sprang from the swords and circled the two combatants, adding to the already tense atmosphere. It was a battle of supremacy, one of who had the greater strength, and it was one Xaren was losing.

So he used his brain.

Stepping to the side and spinning at the same time, he avoided the saber and the wave of blue flame and leaving his attacker vulnerable for a split second. Completing the spin, Xaren smashed his blade into the attacker's side, knocking the foe back with an explosion of fire. Xaren did not have time to celebrate his hit though, his attacker was back on their feet in an instant and forced Xaren to the edge with a flurry of impossibly fast strikes. Xaren could barely keep up, and he was aware of the edge directly behind him. Finally with a massive uppercut, the attacker sent Xaren flying into the air for a 100 foot drop.

Xaren smiled, his plan going perfectly. Right on time, Satan jumped out from the ground, swinging his scythe with an enraged "Nya!" The attacker barely had time to dodge, but it was too late. Satan's scythe caught a hold of the hood, ripping it away.

As Xaren fell, he had time to register one fact: it was a human woman.

**A/U: Aaaaand that's a wrap! Cut everybody!**

**Xaren: someone help me down!  
**

**Me: nah. okay, how was it guys? good? bad? review please! good long reviews! if you do, ill put up chapter twoooooo.  
**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/U: Hello everybody. This is rather clearly chapter two, hopefully there won't be quite as many typos. I forgot to mention, this fic is based in Monster Hunter: Freedom Unite, but I will change some things. Now for the thank yous**

**Zedept000: thank you so much bro, i did find the typos but my limited time and patience will not permit me to change them. oh well.**

**blueberry-kun: thank you thank you THANK YOU! i love reviews, and your complements have once again boosted my ego! Bow to the great Xero! XD**

**Chelty: You are freaking amazing! i got a nice long review, which is great, and your supportiveness is appreciated beyond words. Even Inner agrees with me. Also, thank you for being such a good friend, it's pretty awesome to have someone who talks to me on a regular basis besides my rather odd school friends. **

**Axi0us, thanks for being my publisher. Thats all. **

**Disclaimer: I own Xaren and ****_her_****, nothing else.**

****A woman. A human woman. Xaren wasn't overly surprised, but it definitely threw him for a second. Literally, he was actually falling from a cliff, thanks entirely to the aforementioned woman.

He quickly righted himself before landing on his feet painfully, but generally unharmed. The hunter looked back up at the cliff, watching Satan trade blows for a few seconds before the felyne threw himself into the ground, digging towards ground level to join up with Xaren. The woman raised her hand, and a wave of blue fire-like energy emanated from her pale hand. Almost instantaneously, velociprey, at least thirty, jumped seemingly from nowhere. Satan made his entrance right at that moment, shaking dirt from his head, and readying his scythe. There was a second of stillness, the calm before the storm, then Satan broke the silence.

With an enraged "NYAAAAH!" the felyne struck, swinging his scythe at the nearest velociprey. Xaren smiled before using his spirit power built up in his sword from the fight with the woman, decimating the velociprey in a flurry of lighting fast strikes laced with red energy and fire. Finally, there were only two left, so Satan jumped on the head of one, shoving his scythe's blade into the eye of the unfortunate creature while Xaren stabbed at his velociprey, quickly withdrawing the blade and ending it with a vicious uppercut.

Xaren looked back up at the cliff, back at the woman, and raised his sword yelling, "That all you got?! Why don't you come down here and finish this?"

The woman smiled, and spoke in two voices, one a human, and the other a reptilian's, cold and merciless. "Come and meet me at the forgotten tower, the one built so long ago to hold back my power. It is there that out fate's will finally begin their course."

Xaren gasped slightly, then nodded. He knew it was stupid, but he could _feel_ that this was what he needed to do. He would go there. But first, a trip back home might be a good idea.

**Pokke Village**

Xaren rubbed his forehead in frustration. He was _sick _of this pointless bickering. The elder, Treshi (a famed treasure hunter who had a great deal of knowledge on the history of the land0, and Vince couldn't seem to come to a decision. Vince argued that several hunters should be sent to the ancient tower, Treshi thought he should go with Vince and Xaren, and the elder thought it was a stupid idea to go at all. The young hunter looked up. Maybe he could slip out...

"This is absolutely foolish," stated the elder. "We need to investigate this woman further. "Satan, you said yourself that this woman could control these velociprey, yes?"

The felyne nodded uncomfortably.

"Then we need to boost our defenses! There is every possibility this person could attack!"

"We need to take the initiative and take this woman down!" argued Vince.

Satan sighed, knowing full well where his friend and comrade had gone, but wishing the others would shut up for one second and notice.

**The Tower**

****Xaren wondered vaguely if the others had noticed his absence. He doubted it though; those three could go on arguing for hours at a time, so Xaren figured he had some time before the others noticed.

He was almost at the top now, only one more doorway...

**Pokke Village**

****A messenger came through the doorway onto the arguing threesome, noting the sad looking felyne comrade sitting and watching the whole affair.

"Ahem," he said, drawing their attention. "The Guild has just sent word. They are sending in the Dragon Souls to the tower to confront this woman. They will be there within the hour."

"Well that's taken care of. looks like you're not going after all Xaren." said Vince. "Xaren?"

The old hunter turned around, but his young friend was gone. "Oh shit."

**The tower**

****Xaren first noted the backdrop to the whole scene. The platform he stood on was far above the clouds, really more of an observation deck, a crumbling one. The woman stood facing him, her hood down, and her black hair blowing in the wind. She wore skin tight light leather armor and her skin was alabaster pale. Her beautiful features were marred by the unnatural bright blue eyes and a small scar on her cheek. Next to her stood a Lunestra.

"I came," stated Xaren simply, his sword drawn and at the ready.

"To your death you walk," said the woman, smirking. She raised her left hand, her right drawing her blade. The lunestra appeared to be ready to pounce when an arrow flew from no where, striking it in the chest, but the lunestra simply roared in anger. Five figures ran from behind Xaren, one carrying a Black Blade, another had a Black Scythe, the third had a Black Bow, the fourth carried a Black Sword, and the fifth carried the black daggers, all upgraded bu Fatalis materials.

"You take the girl, we got the Elder Dragon!" called the one with the great sword (the upgraded Black Blade).

Nodding, Xaren charged at the woman. He swung downward, but the woman blocked with relative ease, and flames burst from the blades. She spun her blade, freeing them both but putting Xaren off balance. She swung her blade up, but Xaren skillfully dodged by spinning to the side and swinging at the same time, hoping to get the woman unawares, but she backflipped out of harm's way. By this point, both opponents had red energy from fully spirit empowered blades. The two circled each other, looking for holes in their defenses. Finding none, both attacked at the same time, unleashing the spirit power within, red energy and red and blue flames unleashed with lightning fast strikes to follow them up. At this point, both had fully abandoned defense, and gouges in each attacker's armor were soon appearing, most with blood flowing from them. An unnoticed crack in Xaren's blade formed.

_Dammit, _thought Xaren. _I can't keep this up. I have enough energy for one more attack, but then I'm done. Here goes nothing I guess._

He charged at the woman, catching her off-guard, and putting all his power into this final, desperate attack. The blades met, and Xaren's shattered, releasing a wave of fire that knocked back the two combatants into unconsciousness.

**A/U: There we go! I'm a little dissappointed with this chapter, I'm not gonna lie. Please review so i at least know where i went wrong or what i did right! I need them**

**Xaren: Zzzzz... ngh...**

**Me: great, he's no use.**

**Inner Xero: But I am!**

**Me: Shit...**

**Inner: review for Xero or face our WRATH! MWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!**

**Me: Please just review people.**


	3. Chapter 3

**AU: Okay folks, I know I've been gone, but I'm BACK! You'll finally find out about HER... Yes, it is that time. Oh, I've gotten a few questions about how long this fic will be, I'm thinking 10-15 chapters. Axi0us, thanks bro. [I'm Axi0us, Xero's Publisher! I'll make comments in brackets, don't worry Xero, I promise not to interrupt your actual story.] [Oh yeah! And, you're welcome... bro.] Now, here's CHAPTER 3!**

* * *

Xaren was nowhere. He stood on... water? It reflected everything back at him like a mirror. The sky was blue with a few stringy clouds here and there. In the could see a few hunched, crooked trees that bore no leaves.

"Where am I?" wondered Xaren aloud.

"Welcome, foolish human," came a voice behind him. That voice... Xaren knew that voice behind him. That voice... Xaren knew that voice. It was HER voice. The woman Xaren had fought earlier. This was the underlying female but reptilian voice. Just hearing it made Xaren instinctively wanted to run away. He turned to face this new obstacle.

In front of him stood a woman... or something. She had olive-toned skin with those piercing, impossibly blue eyes. She wore no clothing, instead blue scales ran along her underarms and covered her upper arms and chest, leaving her head naval, and hands are. The scales covered her entire lower body, but they formed high-heels on her feet. Her black hair was in a bun, but there were many strands, thick and tin., that hung loose. She was undeniably beautiful, but her face carried a cruel smile, and Xaren knew that she was not to be trifled with.

Xaren, however , was the type to challenge everything.

The hunter reached behind his shoulder, gripping his sword hilt. "Tell me where I am!" he demanded.

The woman-dragon laughed. "Do you know who you speak to, insolent child? I am-"

"I don't care who you are!" interrupted Xaren. "Now I won't ask a fourth time, where am I?!" and at that he drew his sword, or what was left of it. The hilt and guard was intact, but of the magnificent five foot long blade, only eight inches or so was left.

The women burst into laughter. "You may have broken my hold over Quirin, but the effort broke your blade. You would challenge me with that?"

Xaren growled. "Broken or not, lets see how well you fare with it shoved into your gut!"

She smiled. "It will take more than that to destroy the Queen of the Elder Dragons."

* * *

Satan sighed, wishing his master would wake up. Xaren had been unconscious since the Dragon Souls had returned with both the hunter and the strange women in tow. Both of their armor sets had been rendered useless by where Xaren had been rendered useless by the explosion from Xaren's now broken long sword, but Xaren had been knocked into a coma, the woman had woken up shortly after being imprisoned in Pokke village.

She claimed to have no recollection of what happened, but she demanded her Lunestra-made Saber be destroyed. After the village Elder had interrogated her using sever Psychoserums, she had finally relented and and the sword was obliterated. After that, her memory was slowly being pieced together. Her name had come first, Quirin (pronounced Kirin, like the Elder Dragon of Lighting). Then her origins, Kakoto, a village resting in the desert to the west. After that, Satan had lost interest, and now he sat next to a bandaged and (still) unconscious Xaren, his broken blade lying on the table a little ways away.

"Still not awake?"

Satan jumped a little, but relaxed when Vince came up, leading Quirin, her hands in bonds. The felyne shook his head. "When will he get up? Master wwas always a heavy sleeper, nya, but this is..."

"Unnatural," said Quirin quietly. " TYhe Queen keeps him unconscious, but for what reason escapes me. When whats left of my missing memory returns maybe I'll understand, but for now all I can do is drag him out."

"Drag him out?" echoed Satan.

"The village elder has managed to unlock enough of Quirin's memory to understand a mysterious 'Queen' figure was controlling her actions through the Saber Quirin used to wield. Now that the blade has been destroyed, she is free, though we believe the connection from her mind to the Queen's may still exist, albeit fractured."

The felyne frowned. "Nya, that's great, but now does this help Xaren?"

"There's no major trauma to Xaren's head. I believe that the Queen holds Xaren captive, perhaps for entertainment, perhaps because she's wary of him," Quirin. "I'm going to use my connection to get him back."

"I appreciate what you're doing for my master, but what do you stand to gain?" growled Satan, clearly distrustful.

Quirin looked down shamefully. "MY pride and your trust. Plus, I owe Xaren. While he didn't intend to, he still saved me. I have to repay him."

"We have to try Satan even if you don't like it," cried Vince.

"You're right ," sighed Satan. "I don't like it. But what choice do we have?" The felyne moved out of the way. "Bring me my friend back."

* * *

"Queen? You say that like I should give a-" BOOM. The water behind the Queen rose up in a massive 70-foot wall. The Queen then raised her right hand, forming a ball of white hot flame.  
"-shit," finished Xaren.

"Run, my prey," cooed the Queen." It will give me pleasure."

Xaren growled, and took a step back, but then instinct took over. He raised his broken sword, and in a flash of gray flames it reformed into something else. The sword itself seemed different than anything Xaren had seen. It had a simple black one-sided katana-like blade was eight inches wide, wider than any longsword, but to small to be a great sword, and with all the merits of both. Black fire and black lightning (dragon element) ran down its length. The Queen's face was a mixture of awe, fear, and shock.

Xaren smiled. "Let's play."

He charged, dismissing his fears of death by calmly accepting he would likely fall here- wherever "here" was.

25 feet from striking distance the Queen finally shook herself back into the present and blasted a single laser-like blast of flame. A Gravios' breath attack. Xaren launched himself but kept moving forward, the sword being light enough to sprint with. The blast of fire the Queen was firing actually blinded her, making it impossible (or dodge) Xaren's spinning horizontal attack. It launched the Queen far, a good ten feet or so, dispelling the fiery blast and wall of water. The wall turned to mist, making visibility fall to zero.

"Hyah!" the cry gave Xaren enough time to turn and face his doom. The Queen came down, the scales on her forearms turning into strange blade-like objects. Xaren fell back, raising his hand, wishing for a shield of some sort. Suddenly the Queen was encased in ice.

Xaren's eyes widened, underestimating sweeping through him. The Queen wasn't the only one who could control this place. Interesting...

Xaren threw his hand forward, launching the frozen Queen back, then with a flick of his wrist the ice blasted away, only to convert to a tornado of flame, encasing the regent.

When the flames died away, the Queen lay panting on the water-ground, and Xaren was charging another fire ball.

"You should run" said Xaren with smirk. "I'm a hunter, I hunt harder than you before lunch. You don't stand a chance."

The dragon regent screamed, water, wind, and fire cycloning around her.

Xaren only smirked. "Two can play at that game." He let a primal rage take over. screaming, and letting his new found power off its leash. Fire and wind and the black lightning that was the dragon element swirled around him.

* * *

As Quirin floated down from the sky, she gasped. This was a clash between gods. Powerful, destructive, yet beautiful. Still, she had to stop it. She brought up a wall of ice, then called down bolts of lightning on the Queen, temporarily immobilizing her. Now it was time to go.

She grabbed Xaren's arm, and started running towards the swirling portal of darkness and light she created.

"Wait!" cried Xaren has he was being pulled. "Aren't you-?"

"I'm Quirin, now let's go!" she replied, and with that she dragged him into the portal.

Back to the real world.

* * *

**AU: That's a wrap! Review please!**


	4. Chapter 4

**AU: Hey guys. Been a while no? On the other hand, I have pretty awesome news: it seems I am not a total failure as an author. I have new reviewers! So, heres a big thank you to:**  
**Mule Chan**

**Chelty-chan**

**YeahWhatever12**

**vexenreplica331**

**whitescorpion326**

**Guest**

**Syque Greywolf**  
**and Zedept000. Those are all reviewers (this far). Syque though, is my publisher. If you review this chap, I will give a public thank you to you in chapter 5. Not much incentive I know, but hey, at least you know you're being recognized. Also, if you guys like Xaren, then go to whitescorpion's profile. In his fic, Xaren makes a small guest appearance. Moreover, its a legitimate fic. Good writing too, but I figured it could help him start off faster if I alert you all that his fic and mine are interconnected. Just sayin. Also, I turn 15 on February 12, so I'm setting aside other stuff for this fic as celebration. Now you all owe me (reviews) MUWAHAHAHAHAHA! So. here ya go!**

**Darkness. Light. Darkness. Light. As Quirin and Xaren fell, this was the pattern around them, either suffocating darkness or blinding light. Xaren was deeply confused, and he wanted nothing more than to be back home with his friends, but the young hunter knew whining would do no good, so he kept his silence and tried to make his situation seem better.**  
**For one thing, a rather attractive female was latched on to his arm. **  
**Oh yes, but remember, this same woman tried to kill you, remember? said the ever pessimistic part of his brain. Xaren couldnt argue with that, but he had a suspicion it wasnt THIS girl's choice. That Queen seemed a more likely suspect, but now was not the time for such thoughts. They seemed to be slowing.**

**Qurin tugged on her partner's arm, righting him so that they would land softly on their feet. She cast a quick glance at the sword Xaren held in his right hand. It emminated power, and in Xaren's hand, it looked like it was meant for no one else. Qurin had no doubt in her mind that this blade was his "key", the shape taken by the part of his mind that lead to Xaren's very being. Quirin was glad that the Queen hadn't gotten a hold of it, otherwise Xaren would be nothing more than a tool for the Queen.**  
**Quirin shuddered slightly, almost unnoticably so, at the thought of facing Satan with that news. She wondered briefly who would kill her first, the very enraged felyne, or the Queen-possessed Xaren. She had a sinking suspicion that Satan would get to her first, and, if he was half as protective as she thought, he would take on the Queen. Quirin for one would put money on Satan winning.**  
**"You cold or something?" asked Xaren.**  
**Quirin stared at him incredulously. "Excuse me?"**  
**Xaren blushed slightly. "I, um, I saw you shiver. I figured you were cold."**  
**"Oh, no, I was just..." Quirin started, but she trailed off when meeting Xaren's intense gaze. "Know what? Never mind. Let's just get out of here."**  
**Xaren nodded. "Yeah. Quick question, how do we do that, and where the hell are we?"**  
**"Where we are is the easier question, sp I'll start with that. We are in your mindscape. Basically, your last refuge, and the place where one would need to go to gain control over the body."**  
**"So the Queen is here to beat me and take ober my body, like what she did to you." said Xaren thoughtfully.**  
**"Yeah, basically, and in order to do that, she needs the sword, which is your key," confirmed Quirin.**  
**"Key?" echoed Xaren.**  
**Quirin nodded. "Who ever possesses your key controls your body."**  
**"Grear," mumbled Xaren. "So why am I not back in the real world? And if we make it, whats to stop her from taking my key when im not here to defend it?"**  
**"The Queen can only get your key when you're knocked into unconsciousness by unnatural means that are malignant, then and only then can she keep you in a coma until she wins."**  
**"Ok, but now we're back to my original question, how do we get out?" asked Xaren, clearly frustrated.**

"Well, thats where it gets tricky," said Quirin, fidgeting. "I can leave at any given moment, or if the Queen leaves, I have to leave. You on the other hand have to produce whats called a Shard. Once this shard is created, stick the key in, and the Queen and I are kicked out, and you wake up."  
"You already know what my next question is," huffed Xaren, an eyebrow raised and his arms crossed.  
"Yeah," sighed Quirin. "A shard is a strong emotion incarnate. When you summoned that whirlwind of elements around you right before I stepped in, you nearly created a shard. Had you been able to harness it properly, I doubt even the Queen would have been able to keep invading your mind. However, by the looks of it you would have just been firing away at the Queen clumsily, and you would've lost."  
"I got it, I got it. I'm outmatched, yadaya, now shut up so I can concentrate," said Xaren, putting his hands up placatingly.  
Quirin rolled her eyes. "Yeah, whatever." At least he was straight forward, still, some manners would be nice.  
She looked over at Xaren. He was staring at the ground, and his jaw was clenched.  
He really is quite- no. Quirin scolded herself. Not gonna happen, so stop daydreaming.

Xaren remembered the Queen, he remembered the emotions. He closed his eyes. Anger. That was it. Xaren had been furious. Enraged that this Queen seemed to think she was so high and mighty, she just gave off that aura that seemed to belittle him. Xaren had been angry that he was alone, and that his sword was broken, and some part of him seemed to KNOW that the Queen wanted to slowly torture and kill each and every one of Xaren's friends. It was that final feeling that sparked it. A burst of brightly burning red fire sprang up in front of Xaren, swirling, intense, and angry. Xaren smirked.  
"Got it."

Satan watched anxiously. Quirin stood over Xaren, her palm on his head and her eyes closed serenely. A couple of times either Xaren of Quirin twitched, but for an hour they had been still.  
Suddenly, Quirin's eyes burst open and she lurched back, and Xaren awoke. He lurched up and down, growling, his eyes flickering blue, then red, then their normal green and back again. Finally, Xaren stopped moving, his chest rising and falling slightly.  
"His eyes!" gasped out a panting Quirin. "Check his eyes!"  
Satan nodded, and gripping his scythe, the Felyne approached. Xaren turned his head towards Satan.  
"Hey," said Xaren hoarsely. His eyes were their natural green. Satan smiled, then whacked him upside the head with his scythe.  
"What the hell?!" yelled Xaren.  
"Next time, I'm coming with!" retorted Satan.  
The comrade and hunter began to argue, much swearing from both parties, and Vince rolled his eyes. "It's Xaren alright."  
Quirin glanced at the grizzled hunter curiously. "How can you tell, his eyes?"  
Vince shook his head. "Because only Xaren can swear that much in one breath, include that many nouns, and have it all rhyme."

AU: Okay guys, thats all, see you in chapter 5 okay?


	5. Chapter 5

Three months.

Xaren stared at the horizan, his eyes hard and cold.

Three months.

That was how long it had been. Three months. Xaren had gone from hunter rank 1 to rank 7 in the first month. He had trained and fought like a man possessed. In a sense, he was. During the second month he had gathered. He had fought and killed more Lao Shan Lungs than he cared to admit, harvesting high class materials to make his Blades. The third month they were forged. A pair of dual blades, one pitch black, the other blood red. Three and a half feet long each, the black used dragon element while the red used fire. A powerful combo, and a one of a kind set. Xaren was never more proud of anything in his life. They could do things other hunters would kill to be able to control, they could adapt, and adaption was perhaps a hunter's greatest asset. All this simply so that Xaren could be ready. Ready for the Queen, the one seemed to be Xaren's biggest threat, the Queen, who made even unshakable Vince look over his shoulder nervously. The Queen, who decided to just up and ditch Xaren. No final battle. No farewell. Just gone. Monster levels returned to normal, and all seemed well.  
Needless to say, Xaren was **.  
He had so looke forward to taking on the Queen in legitimate battle, but no. Such things were to be a pipe dream. Xaren still plowed through hunter ranks and quests like they were going out of style. He still knew, or thought he knew, the danger hadn't passed, and ironically, Xaren found his only ally on the matter in Quirin.

Quirin.

Once sworn enemy of Pokke Village, now one of its key hunters. Vince still was distrustful, but Xaren had long since learned that she was a reliable comrade and friend. Xaren hoped it might come to more, but he wasn't so sure Quirin would think the same. He had kept quiet on the matter as a result.

"Hey, I thiink he's here."

Xaren smiled wriley. Speak of the devil and all that.

"Yeah, it looks like our boy," replied Xaren. "But why the hell does the Elder want us to personally escort him?" he wondered aloud.  
Quirin shrugged. "Its the Elder. Does ANYONE understand all of her reasoning?"  
"Probably not," sighed Xaren. The young hunter got to his feet, joints popping loudly in the early morning air as he stretched. "Lets go."

-

Closer up, Xaren saw something familiar in the visitor. A certain gait to his steps, something Xaren knew oh so well, but it still seemed alien. The frustration of having things on the tip of his tongue would never dull.

"Hey, are you the one we're supposed to bring back?" asked Quirin kindly.  
The traveler snorted. Nice to know she has SOOOO much faith in me.

The Voice. That damned voice! Xaren knew that voice. Simultaneously, he shivered and smiled. Xaren recognized this figure, and he knew what was coming next.  
"Watch his Long Sword," cautioned Xaren.  
Quirin turned in confusion, "His Long Sw-" but she was cut off, the traveler having swept her feet out from underneath her... with his Long Sword. The katana had a black blade, icy blue electricity ran down its length. The True Devil Slicer. Xaren smiled. The traveler wore Narga armor, which Xaren knew all too well would increase his evade time. Xaren wore U-class Rathalos armor, powerful, but no speed increase. This would be fun.

Xaren slowly pulled his dual blades off his back, then with a smirk, a attached the red one to the end of the black. A Long Sword, with high level strength and sharpness. The Traveler was obviously taken back. As Xaren's blade transitioned to solid black and dragon element crackled around it, he said only, "Custom blade. Like it?"  
The traveler nodded. "Nice upgrade... for once."  
"Hmph." And Xaren charged.

The traveler swung down, but Xaren stopped the blow and spun to the side, off balancing the traveler and setting up an early finish.  
In a fit of acrobatic prowess, the traveler back flipped over Xaren's incoming sword strike and landed safely. He came forward in a stab, but Xaren countered, simply rolling of the side of the hostile blade and nearly decapitating the Traveler all at once. Soon the blades were flashing, black and blue lightning flashing all around them. Quirin could only stare, her Kirin Kingsword being far too slow as a greatsword to keep up with those two. Might as well enjoy the show.

Xaren was matched. He couldn't get an upper hand, so decided to change the rules. He pulled apart his two blades, their original colors returning, and Xaren went from Long Sword to Dual Blades, and the latter was incredibly fast. Xaren summoned his power, red energy adding to the mix of the black-lightning dragon element, fire element, and cold blue lightning element. He launched into a Dual Blade specific combo called Demon Dance, a series of up to almost 15 lightning quick attacks, and the Traveler couldn't keep up.  
On the final blow (both blades coming down together in a massive finisher) The Traveler was knocked to his back, and inma flash, Xaren had the black blade at the traveler's throat.  
With a smile, Xaren triumphantly said," You lose... Raithin."

**AU: Ok guys, theres Chapter 5. Thank you Kendall, black giadrome, and Syque Greywolf. This chap's publisher: Axi0us, aka, Mediocre Name of Mediocrity. As a favor, I hereby advertise all of Syque Greywolf's stories, he's actually pretty good. Again, Xaren is in another story called A Giadrome Named Fang, written by black giadrome (formerly white scorpion) and thanks guys for reading. If you had an emotional response to this fic, review. If you didn't, REVIEW EVEN MORE!**  
**Haha, later guys. Seeya next chap. The Queen's not gone...**


	6. Chapter 6

"You've been promoted."  
Raithin, Xaren, Quirin, Satan and the Elder all sat in the gathering hall. Everyone with armor had removed their helms, and several drinks sat in various places around the table. Then Raithin had said that.

To his credit, Xaren didnt so much as even blink. He merely replied, "Why?"

"Consider it an assumption," replied Raithin. "And one hell of a gamble. I can't sugar coat it man, so its gettin' laid out as is. The Guild is undermanned and losing credibility, especially with Tanzia and Dondruma."

Xaren frowned. "Tanzia? But thats miles to the east, with an ocean in between. Why the hell do we care what our rep is over their?"

Raithin took a breath. "The Guild wants to form a pact, a kind of joint system, with Tanzia. Their resources are infinitely more abundant than ours, and their hunters are more skilled with their weapons and more versatile. I hear they can even fight underwater. On the other hand, we have different weapons, armor, fighting techniques, monsters, the works. Everyone benefits, and it opens up anew trade route as well."

"Since when did you care about all this?" chuckled Xaren.

"Since I became a Guild Knight." sighed Raithin. "We dont always get the fun jobs."

"You still havent explained why Xaren is being promoted." Quirin put in.

"No, he has, indirectly, but he has."

"How-"

"Undermanned. Gamble. Plus, Raithin isnt exactly an errand boy. If he's sent in, the situation is extremely bad or desperate.

Or both. Like now.

"The Guild wants to show its capable, and we need to reveal the threat of the Queen." Raithin started.

"So I am becoming Guild Knight. Two birds, one stone. Knowledge of the Queen, and a skilled hunter to show off." finished Xaren.

"Exactly." nodded Raithin.

Xaren looked up. "So when do we leave?"

"As soon as possible," answered Raithin.

Xaren nodded. "Alright. I'll go get packed." He got up and left, jogging across the village center to his house.

Quickly getting packed, Xaren was almost ready to go when Raithin, Satan and Quirin walked in.  
"We need to talk, and this conversation has to be private."

Xaren raised an eyebrow, but nodded. "So what great secret is being revealed?"

"That whole Tanzia thing was a lie. I basically needed an excuse to give to your elder, and the Guild needed you to come with as little friction as possible."

"Nyah, why would master be summoned like this?" inquired Satan.  
Quirin nodded. "And why tell us this? Only Xaren was summoned and promoted."

"On paper, yes, but all of you have experience with the Queen, who has been a hell of a lot more active then I let on." Said Raithin. "As I said before, most of what I said was complete crap. Tanzia has already merged with the Guild, we merged the minute their monsters began migrating here."

"Wait, WHAT?!" exclaimed Xaren. "Raithin, what the hell is going on Raithin?!"

Raithin sighed, running a hand through his unruly black hair. "God damn this cloak and daggar business. Ok, so heres the deal. Monsters of all kinds have responded to some kind of mental shout. We believe the Queen is responsible. The monsters are gathering in masses, and they arent all Minegarde natives."

"The Tanzian breed of monsters," muttered Xaren.

Raithin nodded. "Exactly. As a result, Tanzia has sent 100 of their hunters, armed to the teeth. We had already merged, but in secret, so we used the ruse of a political instability with Tanzia as an excuse to gather all Guild Knights and high ranking hunters. With our combined forces, the hunters will learn from each other and be strong enough to repel the attacking monsters, in our first battle at least."

"So you were sent to collect us and help fight in the upcoming battle?" asked Quirin.

Raithin nodded. "Pretty much. We put quite a bit of planning into this, all adding to the deception that we might go to war with the Tanzians when we're really prepping for open war with the monsters. If war is inevitable, then the truth is revealed, Minegarde is already prepared, and we can fight. We've already found a massive herd of wyverns and elder dragons, heading towards Dondruma. Our troops are stationed there currently, I just needed to come get you guys."

Everyone fell silent, but then, Satan broke the still. "Nyaaah! Why are we still sitting here? Lets go!"

**AU: Ok, first off, thank you to:**  
***vexenreplica331, no, the dual blades stay with Xaren. XD**  
***Chelty-chan, yay! You're back!**  
***And the ever mysterious Guest! See? I updated!**

**YOU GUYS ROCK FOR REVIEWING AND BEING GENERALLY AWESOME PEOPLE!**

**For all you Minecraft fans, I'm writing a joint fic with Syque Greywolf, I write for the character Xero, so you should read it!**

**If you haven't already, read black giadrome's fic, A Giadrome Named Fang, Raithin stars in it and Xaren makes a guest appearance right off the bat! **

**PS:**

***Dondruma is seriously the name of The Town in monster hunter: freedom unite**  
***I just got MH:3U for the 3DS! :D SOOOOOO much fun! Tanzia is the name of the online port in that game, so yeah. **

**See ya guys soon!**


	7. Chapter 7

The company of three hunters and one rather rumpled looking felyne crested the hill over looking Dondruma. The Town was, as always, an impressive sight. A wall at least 50 feet tall surrounded the town, and it bristled with ballistae, canons and the fearsome Dragonator. Two six-foot wide spikes that could be snapped forward at the push of a button, it was the town's pride and joy. A massive flat field surrounded Dondruma for a good two miles, dotted with watch towers. And occupying the portion directly in front of Dondruma was a massive encampment of hunters.

"Damn", whistled Xaren. "Quite the army built up here."

"Oh yeah, the first few days were hell for Fang," chuckled Raithin.

"Oh yeah, where is Fang anyway?" inquired Xaren.

Raithin opened his mouth to speak, but a Giadrome's screech ripped through the air. Raithin smiled wrily. "Coming."

A Giadrome, large even by its own kind's standards, landed in front of the group. Strangely, it appeared to be wearing steel plated armor.

Quirin quickly readied her great sword, but Satan lightly tapped her shoulder. Looking at the hunter with a smirk, Satan shook his head "no".

They watched as Xaren walked forward calmly and extended his right fist confidently. The Giadrome screeched, and stepped forward- to return the offered fist bump.

"Can't believe you taught him that," said Raithin, rolling his eyes.

Xaren turned and said, "Quirin, meet Fang, Raithin's partner Giadrome."

Quirin was still in shock Raithin had tamed a monster. No one seemed willing to answer her questions (mostly to annoy her) but when she asked why Fang hadn't accompanied Raithin to Pokke, his eyes turned dark and he answered "Fang has a lot of memories there. He is quite intelligent you know, and his memory is clear. Pokke isn't exactly... a happy place for him."  
When she pestered Xaren, he only said, "Ever wonder where Fang's pack went?"  
Quirin found it hard to believe a Giadrome could be any kind of intelligent, but he seemed to understand Xaren, because said hunter was currently talking to Fang, and Fang was responding. Not with words, but he, Xaren and Raithin seemed to have developed a bodily sign language.

Xaren was happy to see Fang and Raithin again, and all the hunters seemed jubilant and excited for the coming battle, but Xaren could only feel his apprehension grow. The young man was scared. This first battle was a deciding factor, he knew it was. Victory at Dondruma meant hope in the war, but a loss... There was at least a thousand hunters here, and they were THE BEST. Defeat here spelled doom for all of Minegarde, and maybe Tanzia across the sea.

Xaren was shook out of his thoughts by Raithin. He was introducing Xaren to some middle aged guy, a trader with a long sword on his back, and a REALLY buff and tall man with an impressive mustache but no head hair.

Raithin gestured to the trader. "This is the Captain of the Argosy, Captain Sen." Sen had greying black hair and almond shaped eyes. He nodded.

The other Tanzian was leader of a small village called Moga, apparently his son was back home, watching the Village.

The final man was clearly of Minegarde though.  
"This is Guildmaster Rupert "Rath-heart" Penson," said Raithin.

Xaren was clearly surprised. "G-Guildmaster?"

He chuckled. "Aye boy. I wouldn't miss this for the world."

"Of course," said Xaren. "Um... why Rath-Heart though?"

Rupert smiled and said, "Lets just say my first Rathalos hunt ended with its heart as my mantlepiece."  
"Nice." snorted Xaren. "Clearly a man of complexity."

Penson laughed. "Oh, I like you boy! None of this yessir business and ass-kissing getting in the way. Don't lose that rebelious streak boy. We need people like you, straight to the point and unafraid to voice their thoughts."

Xaren nodded.

"Now, as for placement..."  
from there it went to tactics. Xaren, possessing his rather unique weapon was to be stationed at the front line next to the "Rath-Heart" Penson. Quirin waould also be there, while Raithin would be among those to flank the approaching horde of monsters. Gunners and bowmen would be on the wall.

Felynes would parachute down.

With plans complete, Xaren wandered, talking to random people till he found Quirin.  
She was practicing her greatsword attacks against a Tanzian switch-axe user.

Xaren couldn't help but marvel at Quirin. She cut quite the figure, black-blue hair, olive-toned skin and dark blue eyes. Nice body too.

Xaren closed his eyes, mentally backhanding himelf. This wasn't the time for those thoughts. Plus, what would she see in him? His hair was an odd shade, the color of tarnished brass, he had dark green eyes and a light tan. He was lithe and sinewy, fast and intelligent. But Quirin didnt give a damn for those qualities... did she?  
Sure, Xaren reasoned with himself. We've gotten a lot closer, but she can't see me that way. After all, he thought grimly. I DID try to kill her. Still...  
Xaren knew he should tell her how he felt. Knowing the answer, even a negative one, was preferable to this endless speculative crap.

"Hey Xair," she called.  
Xaren looked up. Xair? he thought. Yeah... I like that.

"Hey," he replied. Now was the time. "Quirin, um, listen. I kind of needed to tell you something. I'm-" a horn sounded. They were here.

"Shit," he muttered.

Quirin's heart sank. She had a hope that maybe Xaren would say something along the lines of "Wanna go on a date?" or "I like you". Hell, a brisk "I'm interested, we haven't got much time, let's go" would've worked.  
Well, okay thought Quirin. maybe NOT that last one.

Xaren looked legitimately unhappy, and Quirin wasn't sure what to say. But, she did know her feelings had to be put out on the open.

She grabbed his armor, and pulled him close, kissing him.

The kiss was desperate, one shared as though it was the last to ever be shared, and Xaren happily kissed back.

They broke apart gasping and blushing.  
"After-?" suggested Xaren.

"Yes!" gasped out Quirin, smiling.

They embraced quickly, and raced to their respective positions, determined to live through the day.

When Xaren got to his position, Rupert awaited him.  
"Ready?" asked the Guildmaster.

Xaren glared ahead as the first minsters apoeared through the midmorning mist.

"Hell yeah."

"Then do the honors."

Xaren smirked, then with all his might the hunter roared "CHAAAAARGE!" and they rushed into the fray, blades eager for blood.

**AU: Hahahaha! You thought you were gonna get a battle! Well, not till next chapter! XD**  
**And thats not all! New POV! Big battle! And Quirin kissed Xaren. Who called it? lol. Anyways, thank loyal reviewers:**  
**Chelty-chan**  
**black scorpion**  
**Axious Runespeaker**  
**and the new new guy, Tritrigas!**  
**Oh, Tritrigus, OF COURSE its far fetched! Its a fanfiction man! Far fetched is like required, especially for a fanfic about a game where you**  
**1)kill big monsters**  
**2)with big-** weapons**  
**3)and suffer should be fatal injuries with ease.**  
**sorry, it sounds condescending, but I had to say something, your comment made me chuckle. Also, you HAVE to read black giadrome's "A Giasrome named Fang". Hes a reviewer, so finding him is easy. It explains Fang and all that. Alright, later guys. **

**Xero, signing out with a bang.**  
**...**  
**...**  
**...**  
**...**  
**... **  
**... **  
**... **  
**WHAT THE HELL?!**  
**... **  
**BANG!**


	8. Chapter 8

Satan watched from his viewpoint on one of the twenty hot air balloons circling the battlefield.

It was chaos.

There were likely close to 200 monster traps set up, and all were activated within the first 10 minutes; yet wave after wave poured in. Monsters, ranging from a simple Yian Kut-Ku to the shadowy Nargakuga. Then things got worse. Elder Dragons began swooping in. In the lead was a massive kushala daora, its rusted metalic skin flaking at parts. It would shed soon. That was Satan's target.

A parachute was secured to his back, and his blue crystaline scythe gripped firmly in his paws.  
A lead felyne, rusty orange in color, walked up to Satan, giving the quick nod of "go". Not needing to be told twice, Satan jumped.

Angling himself to land on the massive Daora, Satan opened his chute, and landed squarely on the Elder Dragon of Wind's shoulders. Satan noticed that there was a rusted open hole to the dragons sparkling white underskin, and Satan drove his scythe into it. The dragon roared, and winged blindly towards the wall- and the Dragonator. Luckily, someone noticed...

Raithin had to give props to The Guildmaster for creativity.  
Felynes raining from the sky?  
Did not see THAT one coming. He DID see the Kushala however, and he roared at Xaren (who was now defending the gunners from a pack of Velocidrome) to "LOOK AT THE F*CKING COMING YOUR WAY! USE THE DRAGONATOR!"

Xaren heard him (amazingly) and quickly finished the final velociprey. He raced towards the big red button controlling the massive weapon.  
"Wait for it..." the hunter muttered. "Eat this f*cker." Literally kicking in the button, Xaren activated the Dragonator. The two massive metal spikes jutted forward, impaling the Dragon through its giant wings. Black blood, hardening into a solid as it contacted the air, spurted from the wounds, and the death screetches made even the monsters cringe. But not stop. The fighting continued, and soon Xaren and Raithin were fighting side by side, Xaren using dragon element long sword form.

Satan jumped off the dead dragon's corpse, landing in front of Fang. The two exchanged a quick fist bump, and Satan jumped on Fang's back, using the Giadrome/Kushala Daora hybrid as a mount. Raithin growled as he rammed his True Devil Slicer into a Gold Rathian's eye.  
"Dammit Xaren, stop teaching Fang to fistbump people!"

"Hell no!" exclaimed Xaren, decapitating a Nargakuga. "Its epic and you know it!"

A roar cut into their debate, and they turned to face the new threat. A Blangonga crouched, prepared for battle.

Xaren switched to Fire longsword mode, and he and Raithin mirrored each other's moves, executing a full Spirit Combo.

The pelagus (Blangonga) fell, and the two turned, only to confront a Shogun Cenetar.

Xaren ducked under its first sweeping attack, switching to Dragon element long sword mode while Raithin lopped off the other claw. Again, the duo unleashed a simultaneous spirit attack, killing the shogun with ease.

"Man, this is easy!" exclaimed Raithin.

"Is it?" came a cool reptilian voice.

Xaren's eyes widened as Raithin went flying.  
Switching to dual blade mode, he turned with a snarl to confront the Queen.

Appearing just as she had in his head, she walked forward with a smirk, her arms turned into blue scaly blades.  
"You!" snarled Xaren.

"Me." smirked the Queen.

She launched herself at Xarenn and HOLY HELL she was fast! Xaren parried her first attack, but suddenly her left arm buried itself into Xaren's gut, breaking through the armor.

Dropping him like a sack of potatoes, it seemed like the Queen was bored.  
Xaren forced himself up, coughing blood, and struck.

The queen blocked, and jabbed forward. Xaren spun to the side, bringing both blades on her neck.  
Lightning quick she dodged, but Xaren expected that and kicked her in the gut. Stunned, she was helpless, and Xaren took his chance. Unleashing a full Demon Dance, Xaren brought the Queen to her knees.

"Impressive," she said through clenched teeth. "But goodbye... for now."

The few remaining monsters converged on the Regent, but when they fled, she was gone.

**AU: Well? Good? Bad? What?! **

**REVIEW. CHAPTER 9 IS COMING SOON.**


	9. Chapter 9

Xaren quickly quaffed a Max Potion, his wounds all healing instantly, even the gut gouge.  
He vaguely noticed black elder dragon blood staining his armor.

He quickly raced over to Raithin, helping his friend to his feet.  
"Dammit, her kicks f*cking HURT!" groaned Raithin.

Xaren chuckled. "Tell me something I don't know."

"Yeah, well, it as information needing to be shared."

"Like hell it-" but Xaren was cut off as the Kushala Daora wrenched itself off the Dragonator.

"Shit, do they ever die?" muttered Raithin.

"Nope, that would be too easy." quipped Xaren.

"Shut thefuck up."

They charged the injured elder dragon, Xaren switching to dragon element long sword.  
Raithin slid under the Daora's belly, dodging its air blast wave while Xaren went for a more... direct approach. He used a spirit empowered slash to disperse the Wind Dragon's blast attack, dragon element and red spirit energy flickering around him.

Raithin slashed diagonally across kushala's metal hide, causing it to roar and spin to snap at the attacking hunter, but Raithin nimbly hopped backwards. The dragon prepared another blast of wind, but suddenly it stumbled forward, the wind discharging along its rusted metal body. Xaren was revealed, his blade stained with the Daora's blood and its tail lying severed next to him.

The dragon whimpered weakly, and launched itself into the air, winging its way to safety.

Xaren walked over to Raithin, switching back to dual blade mode. "We're not done yet."

Raithin looked back at the battle. "Lets get to it," he sighed.

Satan (and Fang!):  
The highly unusual duo of Felyne and half giadrome half kushala daora were doing considerably better than Xaren and Raithin. Satan would launch himself onto a Rathalos's head, driving his scythe into its eyes, bringing it to the ground, and Fang would latch his metal claws and razor sharp fangs into the fire wyvern's hide, pumping freezing agent produced naturally in his body into the Rath's. Its movements slowed significantly, and it became a pushover. Satan would then ride to another fight on Fang's back, the latter's natural metal plating protecting both while the former played various flutes, healing or strengthening both.  
Good team got a new meaning.  
Soon hunters across the field were literally leaving trails of trapped wyverns for the team to weaken, then hunters would swarm in to finish it. Even the Fatalis-slaying Dragon Souls were impressed.

Quirin:  
Quirin was quickly working herself into a rhythm. Her greatsword allowed her to sweep enemies off their feet, then she would crush in the monsters' rib cage (and heart) while they were down. Then the Lao-Shan Lung came.

The massive mountain of a dragon shook the ground with each step it took, and Quirin knew that its full strengh wasn't even revealed yet.

She saw Satan, riding Fang, charge towards it, yowling and raising his scythe, calling other hunters to his aid. Fang lept onto the Lao-Shan's back, disappearing behind its russet ridges. Not to be outdone by a cat, Quirin also charged, noting "Rath-Heart" Penson followed, his Gunlance shining in the sunlight. She also glimpsed Xaren and Raithin running side by side towards the dragon.  
She angled herself towards them, winking at Xaren (who smirked in return) and yelled, "Fancy meeting you here!"

"Yeah, giant battle for humanity, who woulda thought we'd meet? Small f*cking world." replied Raithin.  
"Got a plan?" asked Quirin.  
Raithin thought for a moment, smiled wildly, handed Xaren a few pouches of something, whispered something to Xaren, and turned towards Quirin.

"We are gonna use a disadvantage as an advantage."

"How so?"

"Launch me."

"What?!" Quirin exclaimed

"Uppercut me with your greatsword onto the Lao-shan. Than Xaren will ah, exercise his pyromaniacal tendencies."

"This is absolutely-" Quirin started.

"Genius." finished Xaren. "Trust me, just do it. This Lao-Shan is gonna have a VERY bad day if you do."

Quirin hesitated, but finally nodded. She readied herself, and swung up.

Raithin managed to hop onto the greatsword and was launched twenty feet into the air.

Flipping, he yelled, "HELL FUCKING YES THIS IS AWESOME!" and he landed, driving his long sword up to its hilt into the Lao-Shan's hide. Lightining arked across its body, and the Dragon roared, an ear-shattering ROAR. Several hunters, Quirin and Xaren among them, dropped to the ground and came up partially deaf.

"Now its my turn!" screamed Xaren. "Quirin, do me a favor and DON'T GO NEAR the Lao-Shan!"

"Wha-?!"

"Just trust me! Please!"

She glared at him, but nodded tersely. Xaren grinned like a maniac, and charged, screaming along the way. The Elder Dragon swung its gargantuan head towards him, and as Xaren lept forward, the Lao-Shan SWALLOWED Xaren.

Quirin stared numbly, but as the dragon tried to swallow, it seemed to choke, then cough roughly. Raithin, Fang, and Satan hopped off its back. Other hunters nearby watched in confusion, as the Lao-Shan began wheezing horribly.

Raithin jogged up to Quirin, laughing and said, "Bet he's got some seriously epic geart burn right now!"

Quirin turned on Raithin in a rage. "You KILLED XAREN!"

"Xaren? Dead? Heh, never figured you for a joker!"

"You bastard!"

Raithin laughed. "Just watch. If Xaren did his job, he'll be fine."

And with one final racking cough, the Lao-Shan's chest exploded in a massive blast of flame.

The now dead dragon collapsed, and from its smoking crater of a chest walked... Xaren.

"Can anyone say epic?" he quipped.

**AU: Well, yes, we can. shit just got crazy, no? **  
**Anyways, thanks to:**  
**black giadrome**  
**guest**  
**I've said this once, but here I go again. Raithin and Fang belong to black giadrome, but we are borrowing each others characters. End of story. Now, review so I can post chapter 10.**


	10. Chapter 10

Xaren limped forward, his grin faltering when he saw the look on Quirin's face, or rather, the looks. They went from shocked to happy to pissed all in quick succession, and Raithin was slowly backing away, waving at Xaren and mouthing "Good luck sucker".

_Asshole_ thought Xaren, but he wasn't really all that mad at Raithin. After all, it didn't get much more epic than blowing up a Lao Shan from the inside. Granted, how he wasn't dead was beyond Xaren, and he had a sinking suspicion that Raithin hadn't really planned on how Xaren would get out alive, but that was just the way Xaren and Raithin worked together. Simultaneously saving each other and trying to kill the other. "Complicated" didn't even cover it.

"Hehe, sooooo… hi Quirin!" said Xaren nervously, running a hand through his unruly brass-colored hair. She didn't reply. She just kept walking, her face set, and Xaren suddenly had a bad feeling. "Listen, there's still more monsters out there, maybe we should help-" _Whack!_

Quirin's fist had come out of literally nowhere, smashing into Xaren's face at a force that would have made a Tigrex flinch. Then she was pulling him back up, and Xaren's hands almost went instinctively for his blades when Quirin was kissing him. He was caught off guard for only a moment, but he shrugged. _Why not?_

…

"So, mind telling me how the fuck it is you are still standing here?" asked a rather amused looking Guildmaster Rath-Heart.

"Well, it's kind of… strange." Xaren started. "Raithin handed me some seriously high class gunpowder, the kind used in Anti-Dragon bombs. He told me that Lao Shan's were extremely weak to fire on their insides since they spent so much time in the Volcanic Belt eating various exploding minerals like Powderstone, so I just kind of decided to give what he was suggesting a try."

"And that was?"

"Getting swallowed, lighting the powder, and throwing it into the Lao Shan's gut as I jumped out. If it didn't work, we would just take it out the old fashioned way. You know, whacking it with various sharp objects."

Raithin spoke up. "So what went wrong man? I mean, the dragon exploded, so that's a plus, but you were not supposed to be in the thing when it blew."

"Well, lets just say a mouth is slippery as fuck. I couldn't keep any grip to save my life, especially when the stupid things was shaking around. So I slipped into it's throat. After that, I basically cut my way out of the stomach and latched onto a rib once I lit the gunpowder. And FYI, Raithin, you were right. The Lao Shan Lung is REALLY flammable."

Raithin chuckled. "No shit."

Rupert shook his head, the bald Guildmaster clearly in awe. "And I thought I was crazy… well, I'll make sure to send out a notice that bombs inside the Lao Shan are far more effective than one outside. In the meantime, stay in Dondruma. The official notice to the rest of Minegarde that we are at war with the Elder Dragons will be going out shortly, and I will need you three here in the meantime. Several of the beasts escaped, and Dondruma will be much more vulnerable once the army brakes up and heads home."

Raithin frowned saying, "Is that really wise? The Queen _will _be coming back, and if she brings in even five Elder Dragons, the three of us will not be enough, no matter how bad ass we are."

"This is precisely why the Dragon Souls are staying as well. They will be the primary defense actually. Dondruma will be our base of operations, along with the fort. New missions will be coming in for you three soon, but in the meantime, use the lull in the action to take a break and heal up," said Penson. "We'll be back in the thick of it soon enough." And at that, the bald Guildmaster took his leave.

…...

The next two weeks passed without incident. Xaren, Quirin, Raithin, Satan and Fang trained daily, both to stave off boredom and to keep their skills sharp. They even managed to get the mysterious Dragon Souls in for a training session. By the end of it, Satan was unconscious, Fang was ready to collapse, Xaren was pinned to the ground by the Great Sword user, Quirin was being held at bay by the dual blades user, and Raithin was being tag teamed by the Gunlance and Hunting Horn user. After they had departed to get cleaned up (The Dragon Souls not even breathing hard) Raithin walked up to Xaren saying, "Am I the only one that noticed the only sounds they made were the occasional growl? No grunts or yelling out to coordinate, and they hadn't even broken a sweat."

Xaren frowned, thinking back to the time on the tower. "No… but back at the Tower, one of them yelled at me to take on Quirin. I can't be sure, but it seemed to be the Dual Blades user. I tried talking to him today, but he just kept his helmet on and looked at me like I was speaking another language."

"Those guys are something else," said Raithin, shaking his head. Xaren couldn't help but wonder if that was something that was good or not.

Another week passed. Raithin complained that the Guild had forgotten about them, and it was clear they were all going stir crazy. Dondruma was fine enough, but its citizens kept too much to themselves, either afraid or wary of the hunters protecting them. Xaren couldn't make sense of it, but he also didn't really care. What really drove him insane was the lack of work. No missions. Nothing even attacked Dondruma, and the place was famous for not going two minutes without some kind of monster related crisis! Yet here they sat, three weeks into their "vacation", with nothing to do and little to talk about. At this point, Xaren could only ever look forward to his burgeoning relationship with Quirin. They even shared the same bed now, which Raithin constantly teased them about. Xaren guessed that was okay, if it weren't for the fact Quirin joined in on it. On the beginning of the fourth week, things finally changed though.

The giant conch horn in the center of the city blew, signaling that an Elder Dragon had been sighted. Xaren and Raithin were at the wall in a flash, fully armed and ready to go. Fang and Satan joined them, but then another horn sounded, a slightly smaller one signaling that a smaller monster, a Rathalos or something of that nature, was attacking the rear of the city.

"Satan," Xaren said, turning. "Get Quirin. Tell her to get the back, Raithin and I have got the front."

"You got it, nyah!" the felyne responded, diving into the ground. Fang screeched at the spot his companion was mere moments ago, sniffed the ground, then softly squawked at Raithin.

"Hey don't look at me! I didn't send him away! That was aaaaalll Xaren."

Xaren glared at his friend. "Thanks man. Now I'll find a Giadrome turd in my bed tonight. I really appreciate it."

Raithin smiled cheerily saying, "Hey no prob! What are friends for?"

"Target practice?"

"I was thinking human shields."

The banter would've continued, but at that moment, a rather familiar looking Kushala Daora appeared on the horizon. Tailless and still abnormally large, it was missing several sheets of its metallic scales, leaving the edges rusty and jagged. Its wings had scars from where the Dragonator had pierced it, and it was missing a claw.

"How _the hell_ is that thing still going?" asked Raithin in awe.

"Four weeks can work miracles on those bastards," replied Xaren, nodding. "Stay here this time, kay? When it gets close, you know what to do."

Raithin rubbed his hands together saying, "Dragonator part two. Just hurry up alright? I wanna try out my new dual blades. And where are the Dragon Souls?"

Xaren shrugged and jumped off the wall, landing on the ground heavily, but perfectly fine. The Daora landed gracefully on the ground, its miniature cyclone of wind already blowing around it. Xaren slowly pulled his custom dual blades off his back, getting into his stance as the Kushala crouched, growling ever so slightly. Then the storm broke.

The dragon launched itself at Xaren, twirling like a drill in the air, aided by its personal cyclone, but the hunter leaped into the air, spinning and coming down, intending to plunge his blades into the dragon. He was only a second to late, missing narrowly, but the Daora kept going. Using its wind, it rebounded smoothly off the wall and dodging the Dragonator that Raithin had sprung. The dragon righted itself instantly afterwards and shot a blast of wind from its maw, catching Xaren off guard and launching him a good ten feet head over heels into the air. He landed on his back, the wind knocked out of him.

Groaning, the hunter rolled onto his stomach to watch Raithin take on the Elder Dragon of Wind on his own, unable to really land a hit. Xaren switched to fire long sword mode and charged in unnoticed. Bringing down his long sword, Xaren sliced cleanly into the beast's flesh, fire exploding around the blade. The blow gave enough time for Raithin to dart in and stab both blades into the dragon's snout, rip them out, and initiate a demon dance, the black lightning of the Dragon element flashing around him furiously. When the finishing blow came (both blades slamming down), the Kushala Daora lunged backwards, bleeding black blood heavily from its face, but it had once again failed to notice Xaren. The hunter rammed his fiery long sword into the dragon's side, flames dancing along the creature's skin. It roared in pain, and slapped Xaren away blindly.

It limped backwards slowly, growling angrily, and it unfurled its wings.

Realizing what was about to happen, Raithin ran forward yelling, "No!" but stopped abruptly when out of nowhere a lunestra slammed into the Kushala, bowling it over and breathing blue flames into its face. The newcomer then bit down on the fallen Wind Dragon's neck, snapping it and ending its life.

Raithin exchanged glances with Xaren, both readying their dual blades. The lunestra merely continued to feed, then it turned to regard them both with amusement. And it _morphed_. It changed into the Queen, black blood staining her jaw.

"Shit," muttered Xaren.

The queen tutted, "Now, is that the kind of language you use in front of royalty?"

"Oh, I can go on. Watch me unload a fuckton of vulgar language in your direction, right before I tear you to pieces!" growled Xaren.

The Queen burst into laughter, cruel mirth engulfing her. "Oh poor boy! If only you understood, you would not be saying that. No, you would be kneeling, vowing to take down your precious Guild. What must it be like, fighting for something with no cause." She took a breath. "Pathetic."

"Listen, you can keep talking, or we can fight, either way, my new swords are going to take off your smug little head, so get out of here if you value your life!" Raithin said quietly, a dangerous edge to his voice.

She only smirked.

"Very well, if that's what you wish… but know this: I know what matters to you two the most. And there's nothing to stop me from taking them out just as easily as I did to this… coward." She said, gesturing to the fallen elder dragon. And before Xaren could strike, she changed back to a lunestra, and left.

**AU: Heya guys, i've kinda been gone a while, but with my laptop cooperating, i should be back better than ever! Thanks go to:**

**pikachut**

**"Zadept000" (yeah, if you're gonna make fun of someone, at least spell their name right retard)**

**Alright, thats all sadly, now please, review. You wanna flame? Go ahead, i know this story needs work, but it is my first, and i want all the input i can get. i want honest opinions people. all i'm asking for is an honest opinion, suggestion, or even something you thought was cool or shitty. anything. that is what a review is, and dammit, i'm sick of people complaining about flames! i won't even get mad at flames though, in fact, i will complimant anyone with the balls who honestly thinks this story needs the flames. So. whats stopping you? take five minutes to write a review. please. See you guys for chapter 11, and by then, things might just be picking up. theres still so much more to go, its almost painful for me! i just want to write out the fucking end already, but i caaaaaaan't! Argh! *deep breath* ok. seriously though, see you wonderful people in chapter 11**

**Xero, out!**


	11. Xaren's past

Xaren sat on the couch, his dual blades hanging loosely in his hands. The queen's final words rang in his ears, and he couldn't block them out. As a hunter, it was his responsibility to take her out, she was a threat to the people, but he couldn't help but wonder if he made a deal with her, would she spare Quirin?

_No!_ he told himself. _I cant afford to think like this! I can beat her! I know it!_ He smirked, these words sounding eerily familiar to who he was as a teenager, as a young twenty-two year old, before joining the Guild two years ago. Before Fang, and Raithin, before his meteoric rise through the Guild thanks to the Queen throwing off any doubt about him. Xaren knew it was only a matter of time before the Guild called him in to be ambassador to the mercenaries. This matter was too big for just two countries to handle. The mercenary units were tough, and they had a variety of ways to kill almost anything. It was just a matter of time…

"Hey? Xair, you've been sitting there for an hour now. Is everything alright?"

Quirin. _She doesn't even know…_ he thought bitterly.

"I'm fine," he said dully. "Just… waiting for the damned letter to get us out of here."

Quirin smirked. "Well then, get off your ass. That letter just came in."

Xaren sighed and got up, sheathing his blades. "What does it say?"

"I don't know. Why don't you join us so we can hurry up and read it?" Quirin replied, crossing her arms.

Xaren smiled. "Yeah, I can't sit here all day long can I?"

Quirin smiled in relief, happy her boyfriend wasn't getting all mopey on her. She held out her arm, motioning for him to follow. He smiled at her, and took her hand, walking out to the main room where Raithin, Fang, and Satan sat waiting. The Dragon Souls were nowhere to be seen. Raithin had a grim look on his face, and Xaren knew that the letter had come. The time to face his past had come along finally.

"Xaren… it says you need to head to the Fort to get briefed for your next mission. It concerns your… previous employment." Raithin says uneasily.

The slightly younger hunter nodded, his unruly brown hair falling into his eyes. "I was wondering when that'd come up. I'll be on my way soon. What are you guys gonna do?"

Raithin looked down at the paper, then said, "Effective immediately, Quirin, Fang, Satan and I are being shipped out to Tanzia. Something about a mass Elder Dragon gathering, and we get to be part of the contingent sent to take them out."

"Queen cause this?"

"Unless you've known a Chameleos to get along well with Kirin or a Toestra, yes."

Xaren nodded. "How many?"

"Ten at least, not including the variety we don't have in Minegarde."

Quirin groaned. "Dammit, I'm gonna hurt a lot after that…."

Xaren smiled. "Oh you can handle it. Big enough party and separate the dragons, it'll all work out fine. What's the locale?"

Raithin sighed and said, "The Volcanic range. We get at least three Tanzian guides to help us work out where the hell we'll be going, and all of them are experienced hunters."

Xaren nodded. "Lets get packed and moving then. I get the feeling the transports don't want to be kept waiting."

Xaren packed quickly, remembering the time before the Guild. A flurry of faces flashed before his eyes, and he remembered cutting down monsters with ease, taking on suicide missions for cash and coming back without a scratch. He remembered his old leader, his squad, and he remembered the woman he spent more than one night with. Xaren laughed, glad that old Rath-Heart had the foresight to not send Quirin with him on this one.

"Rupert's crazy for sending you on this one."

Xaren sighed. "Raithin, you know just as well as I do that if we're gonna get the mercenaries on our side for this one, we need to send in an ex-mercenary. And I'm the best shot at getting in the biggest mercenary unit on our side."

"You left them behind you two years ago! And it took one year of straight hunting on your own or with some old grizzled hunter keeping an eye on you just to get their trust! And in the process, you managed to piss off the mercs!" Raithin argued.

Xaren whirled on Raithin. "I know the risks! But I can't run away with my tail tucked between my legs! This is just how things worked out, and it has to happen!"

There was an awkward silence. Xaren sat down on the edge of his bed, running a hand through his hair and sighing. "Raithin… if I don't make it back, and I don't think I will, I want you to tell Quirin who I was. I know her, and I know she's gonna ask you about it on your way over to your guys' assignment."

Raithin snorted. "Why don't you tell her yourself?"

Xaren chuckled. "I don't think she's going to ask me. Quirin's way more tactful about things than you or I. She's going to grill you for the facts, and then she's not going to mention it unless I do."

"Whatever. Just don't expect me to take care of your shit in the future."

"Note to self: give all my problems to Raithin so that he can take care of them. Sadly, Quirin won't join me in this. she's far too kind for that."

"I know this person who could takes a few leafs out of her book…." Raithin said with a smirk.

"Shut up."

"Not my fault you can't take three steps without getting in a fight."

"Whatever man. Is it really such a problem I can't take things laying down?"

"Naw, I just like giving you shit for it."

"Asshole."

"Prick."

They both started laughing at Raithin's last comment, the tension broken. "Well, the aptonoth's getting edgy, and the driver says we need to get a move on. You ready?"

Xaren nodded, grabbing his pack and standing. "Lets go."

They met outside Dondruma's gates, the five of them exchanging a mix of jokes, hugs, bro fists ("God dammit Xaren, I told you to stop fist bumping Fang!") and kisses ("Get a room you two…" muttered Satan.). The cart drivers looked on with a mix of uncaring and annoyance, but they said nothing; it was tough to pick a fight with three people with really large swords on their backs.

"Alright, hopefully we see each other soon!" Satan said, the felyne twisting at his scythe in excitement.

Xaren smiled, not betraying a single bit of apprehension. "Yeah, lets hurry the hell up and finish our assignments."

Raithin nodded and Quirin walked up to Xaren, kissing him one last time. He put all he had into that last kiss, knowing his chances for coming back were slim to none. "I'll see you soon," he whispered.

"You damn well better," she replied. Then they parted, and got into their respective carts, and left.

**_Three days later…_**

"So, Xaren, are you ready?"

Xaren nodded, facing Rupert with a stoic face.

"I'm sorry, but its our only option. We need the mercenaries." The bald Guildmaster said with a sigh.

"And the mercenaries want my head. I get it. I'll cut a deal with them so that we get them as allies, I just can't promise that I'll survive the encounter." Xaren replied.

The Guildmaster looked up at Xaren. "It can't be that bad."

Xaren smiled thinly. "The mercenary unit I was a part of, the one you are sending me to, is the biggest mercenary unit in the world. Do you know how many members there are?"

Rupert shook his head no.

"A total of 500 hunters. Maybe more by about 50 to 60 members. And you better believe that we all knew each other. Getting in meant staying in until you died, or served well enough that you were allowed to leave. The previous Guildmaster knew this, your predecessor, Johannes Karier, and that's why he made me go through a year of secret hunting under various watchers, including Raithin. He knew that the reason our unit was such a success was because each and every squad was made via compatibility. He knew that our mercenary unit was made up of bonds of trust. The Guild is so big, it can't actively do this, so your effectiveness is made of sheer number of hunters and by dividing missions by skill and rank. Our mercenary unit accomplished the same effectiveness by putting together groups who would die with their comrades gladly. Looking back on those days, its hard not to marvel at how thought out the whole thing was. It forces me to really respect the Leader."

Rupert sat back quietly, not entirely sure how to respond. "If offered back a place within the ranks of that mercenary unit, will you join?"

Xaren hesitated. "I don't know. I miss the feel of the mercenary unit, truth be told, but there was a lot of shady shit we dealt with. Missions were way more dangerous, way more illegal, and not everything we killed walked on four legs."

Rupert took a breath in sharply. "You don't mean-?"

"I mean that some peoples' deaths weren't from being mauled by monsters."

The Guildmaster sighed, rubbing a hand over his head. "I can see why the old Guildmaster made sure he could trust you. I'm not even sure I should trust you."

Xaren snarled and slammed a fist into the table. "I did NOT spend two years serving you, serving the guild, taking on the most risky missions, even saving several hunter's lives, just to be cast out in distrust. I'm still a rookie according to you're people, did you know that? Hah, what a joke! You're hunters are weak Guildmaster, no where near mercenary level, and if I had stayed with them, I could've still held a lot of respect, a lot of fear. Why is it that so many of the mercenary units still survive? Its because you can't take them out! You'd destroy yourself in the process, leaving Minegarde weak and exposed." Xaren closed his eyes and took a breath. "I left a lot behind coming here, and I've given a hell of a lot more than what you've given me. Don't make me regret that."

Rupert stood up suddenly, snarling. "What would you do in my position?! I know full well the service you've given to the Guild, and I wont forget it, but how am I to trust you when you wont tell me why and how you left?"

Xaren sighed and turned, leaving. "I understand, Guildmaster. i'll tell you the details of my... retirement another time Guildmaster. Another time."

Raithin sat, leaning against the railings of the boat. The ocean spray felt good on his face, although he knew Fang would disagree. He sighed and swept his black hair out of his eyes as he though about the Giadrome laying curled up in the hold, trying not to vomit.

He let his mind wander to other things as the sun set, like how beautiful this ocean was at twilight. Or how Quirin had not spoken to him for three days. She hadn't asked Raithin a thing about Xaren, his past, or really anything. She was productive, but she just hadn't talked. Maybe Xaren was wrong, maybe Quirin wasn't going to-

"Raithin. We need to talk."

He sighed. Or maybe she would just come and ask about it out of the blue. He turned to face her, her blue-black hair shifting between the colors in the fading light. He could never figure out how it is her hair did that, but then again, he also didn't care. He did wonder where that scar on her cheek came from, but that was for another time.

"Whats up Quirin?"

She walked up beside him, leaning up against the railing and sighing. "I didn't want to ask because its really none of my business, but Xaren has been… off lately. And you didn't say what specifically his "previous employment" was. So tell me. What is it that Xaren is doing right now?"

Raithin sighed again and turned towards her. "Xaren was once part of a mercenary unit, the big one called Narga-kin. He was involved in… activities that may have not been strictly legal. He never gave me all the details, but he did tell me some things and why he left."

Quirin motioned for him to continue.

"Xaren was leader of his particular squad, and apparently they were pretty close-knit. It was a four man team, but apparently that number was variable according to the difficulty of the mission. They all fought for each other, nearly died for each other, and basically were family. Then, something changed, and Xaren had to leave."

Quirin hesitated, then asked, "What?"

"They were sent on an assassination run."

**_Two years earlier…_**

"Yo Xaren, man come on!" called a buff lance user. His name was Greyson. Xaren looked over at him, and shook his head. The soon to be hunter slung his long sword, a blade made from the materials of a Nargacuga, into his sheath.

"I don't feel like it, G. Lets just chill out here." Xaren replied, the 25-year-old mercenary laying down on the couch in the spacious cave that was used for the main room for the mercenary unit.

A cool hand slid under his armor, running up his chest. "Let's go Xaren. Afterwards, maybe I can…" the hand slid down, tugged at his belt, and slid away.

Xaren looked down at the owner of that hand, a tall red head named Korena. She had flawless pale skin, bright blue eyes, and a mischievous smirk. Her hair was short, only falling to the middle of her neck, and it was swept away from her eyes. She wore a pair of duel blades.

"You know how to convince me too easily…" Xaren said, smirking. "Alright guys, lets get off our asses and go then. We have an assassination today right?"

The final member of the group, a light bowgun user who was an expert with poisons stood up, pushing his goggles up his face onto his forehead. His name was Baird. The men were all clean shaven, and both Xaren and Greyson had brown hair, but Baird had a very strange shade of hair color, dyed a bright green.

"Correct sir." Baird replied, his voice soft, but Xaren knew that while he may not seem imposing, he was far more terrifying than Greyson, or "G".

"Who's the target?"

"Some rich brat, name's Victor Blinsley." Replied Korena. "Lives in a city near Pokke, Ironbound or something, and apparently his daddy is Mayor there. Lots of security, non of them well trained since the Guild is in such close proximity, and possibly some pet monsters. Nothing bigger than a few giaprey though, so we should be fine."

Xaren nodded. "Lets get started."

**_Blinsley Compound_**

A sonic bomb went off in the center of a vast courtyard, followed quickly by all the guards rushing in to said courtyard. They had pretty basic, cheap, chain mail armor, and they all carried a sword and shield set capable of taking down at most a Yian Kut-Ku. Pathetic really.

Xaren jumped from the wall, landing in the midst of them, his black armor making him seem like a living shadow as he began to spin and slice, never stopping, and taking out all of them with one hit strikes, his blade glowing red from spirit energy. He ended it all by spinning one more time, discharging the spirit energy with a massive red whirlwind that killed all the guards and sheathing the blade in one smooth move.

"Too easy…" he muttered, having not even taken a scratch.

"Always impressive, love," came a voice from behind him.

"Thanks babe," Xaren replied, smirking and turning towards Korena. He motioned forward with his hand. "Lead the way."

She nodded, and started running towards the compound, the doors already busted in by G, who had jumped in when the guards were preoccupied with Xaren. The four of them met up inside relatively quickly, dispatching guards with ease, and pushing past the old mayor and his wife to enter into a room marked "Victor".

Inside was a crib with a small boy in it.

"Shit!" swore Korena. "How the hell are we gonna do this now?"

Baird blinked. "I don't see the problem. He's just that much easier to dispatch now."

Korena turned on him, fully ready to argue, but Xaren raised a hand, stopping her. He spoke up, his voice quiet and shaky. "We have to complete the mission. We are representing our Mercenary unit here, if we fail, we lose the client, and the cash."

"And what about our humanity, Xaren? What about that?" asked Korena quietly.

Xaren was quiet, unable to reply. He didn't speak even when the parents begged for them to leave, offered ridiculous sums of money, and he didn't say a word as the carving knife slid across the child's throat.

**_Now_**

Quirin held a hand to her mouth, silent. She tried to speak, but no sound came out. She swallowed, then was able to speak. "W-what then?"

Raithin shrugged. "He didn't say. He just says after that he left." Raithin paused before saying "Please don't mention this to him. I think he has enough problems with it already."

Quirin nodded. "Right. So… that's where he is right now? Negotiating with the Mercenaries?"

Raithin nodded. "I don't envy him right now…."

**_Xaren_**

"So, you're finally showing your face here again, huh Xaren?" came a voice. It was smooth, female, and despite the fact that it was kept steady, Xaren could hear the shake in her voice, knowing that only a select few would be able to hear it.

"Hello again… Korena. I need to talk to your boss."


End file.
